Wave that's because our healthcare system is set up as a "fee for service" based system and not a "preventative, results" type system.
Originally Posted by Sensia
"Preventative, results" type system is what HMOs were supposed to be all about. Unfortunately, because HMOs have fixed subscription costs, as opposed to fee for service, there is HUGE pressure on their managers to contain costs, and the only way to do this is to cut back on services. There have been some HUGE scandals as a result. (One HMO lost a big one. They were denying their doctors permission to do certain expensive cancer-screening tests. The tests would either find cancer or not, meaning that doing the test might force the HMO to spend a lot of money treating the cancer. What would happen was that they'd deny the test until the other symptoms got bad enough. By that time, the cancer had progressed to the point that it was untreatable, the patient was walking dead, and the HMO saved a BUNDLE by not having to treat the patient. They got sued, and the story came out.)
I used to collect HMO horror stories, until I collected what would have been my very own PERSONAL one, if I'd been on the HMO plan at the time. (I wasn't nearly that stupid, and it saved my life.) I lost interest after that.
There has been a steady decline in Doctors who really care about their patients and give sub par care these days.
Originally Posted by Sensia
I don't know where you live or how you pick your doctors, but I have not encountered this ANYWHERE at ANY time. I've met some doctors who were better than others, some who were absolutely outstanding, some who were at best reasonably competent. I've NEVER met one who didn't know what he was doing, in detail, and I've NEVER met one whose first and overriding concern was anything other than giving the patient the best care he could.
I believe that the new health care law will make an attempt to rectify this.
Originally Posted by Sensia
I hopre you're right, but I'm not holding my breath.
I agree with you, the new health care law is a step in the right direction and what we should be doing is working the kinks out and making it better. For once I would like to see these Medical Schools do a better job of training physicians and teach them about talking with their patients and giving them some real time and information that could help to prevent diseases and ailments.
Originally Posted by Sensia
A lot of this is dictated by the realities of the cost of doing business and the need to see a certain number of patients per day. If your fixed costs dominate, then spending more time per patient means seeing fewer patients per day and requires charging more per patient. This is high-school math, at worst.
It just seems most of the doctors we have now want to make a quick buck and rack up insane charges for their time regardless of patients overall health or outcome. Have you noticed that if you have more than one issue going on with you that most doctors will tell you they can only do one appointment per issue now? They want you to come back for each separate ailment instead of addressing everything at once in one sitting/appointment. Its all to rake in cash off the patients.
Originally Posted by Sensia
Again, I've never encountered this, anywhere.